CASA to illegal alien “kids”—don’t sign up yet if you have had any brush with the law!

They lined up 50,000 deep in Chicago yesterday blared this headline, however, interesting (and funny!) that today I see that headline changed from the original story and now trumpets a measly 11,000.   The illegal alien “kids” (up to age 30) had come out of the shadows to apply for their two-year work permit and the goodies that will flow from it.

I had to laugh though when I saw this article in the Washington Times in which CASA de Maryland raises that same monster I did here a few weeks ago, and here yesterday at my other blog.   Along with their carrot of a two-year reprieve from deportation, the kids will be fingerprinted, photographed and subjected to background checks.  And, what happens in two years, do they have to do it all over again?

Although I must say the USCIS is going to have lots of problems since they are not fully staffed for all of this (even if the numbers aren’t 50,000 but 11,000 in Chicago) and so the timeline*** for receiving a work permit that was outlined in my previous posts (earliest approvals would come in 2013) will likely be further stretched out.   I heard someone on some TV news program say that since the kids have to show they were here for five years, parents are digging through dated school work to find dates on school papers etc.—the dream will be a nightmare for the bureaucrats who have to administer this election-year gimmick (it already is for ICE agents, see below).

Here is what I wanted to mention from the Washington Times story, and what is being said about the “rejects” (the kids turned down for the work permit).  Emphasis is mine:

….the latest estimate from the Migration Policy Institute says that as many as 1.76 million illegal immigrants could be eligible. Homeland Security estimates about 11 million illegal immigrants reside in the U.S.

Officials have said they won’t use any of the information gained from applications to try to deport those who are rejected, or to go after their families, who might still be illegally in the U.S. and fall outside of the program.

Some advocates, though, are wary.

Casa de Maryland, which is helping applicants in Maryland, is warning those who might have criminal records not to sign up just yet: “If you have ANY history of an arrest, conviction or criminal conduct, you should not submit your application until we can confirm your eligibility,” the group says in its guidance, adding that it will help those not eligible try to figure out ways to avoid deportation.

Maryland Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez said that along with their work permits, the “kids” will get Social Security numbers and drivers’ licenses and maybe college tuition breaks.  Hmmmm!  So what happens if the voters of Maryland say no to taxpayer supported college for the kids in November?  And, if they get drivers’ licenses, does that mean they can register to vote as well?

Key questions remain, including whether those who qualify for the federal program also will be eligible for driver’s licenses or in-state tuition at colleges and universities in states where illegal immigrants are currently denied those benefits.

Ms. Gutierrez said in Maryland, a work permit and the Social Security number that comes with it are enough to prove legal residency, which should make them eligible for licenses.

ICE agents protest with petition drive!

One more thing!  The Obama work-permit amnesty is making life difficult for ICE agents on the ground.  Yesterday, NumbersUSA urged its supporters to help the ICE agents’ union with its petition drive.

Here is Roy Beck, President of NumbersUSA:

It shouldn’t be surprising, but it IS reassuring that a union has stepped forward to try to slow down the Obama Administration’s increasingly brazen unilateral decisions to ignore — and even violate — immigration laws.

Earlier today, the union posted a petition on its website that challenges the Administration.  And it has asked American citizens to sign the petition to back up federal employees who feel like they should enforce the immigration laws passed by Congress.

Visit NumbersUSA and follow links to the petition!

***Don’t you think it’s interesting too to note that the original story that I posted from the Daily Journal, which included a timeline for processing the dreamers, is no longer available.  They wrote a new story and took it out—-what! didn’t want to tell the “kids” the truth, that it will be well into 2013 (and after the election of course) before they learn if they have been approved or “rejected.”   And, what if Romney wins?